


In Need of a Vet

by blackriddlerose



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 22:39:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17353928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackriddlerose/pseuds/blackriddlerose
Summary: Bepo starts showing symptoms of a disease Law doesn't think affects humans so they are forced to seek out a vet.An old fanfic from 2012 with minor edits.  Cross posted.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am aware some of the heartworm information is not correct but this is also the world of One Piece and Bepo is special.

"It hurts! It hurts! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" The screaming attracted the attention of the crew as they abandoned what they were doing to see what the problem was. Bepo was rolling on the floor clutching his chest.

"What's going on? What's wrong Bepo?" Law's voice cut through the crowd, silencing everyone.

"My chest, it hurts really bad…oh it's better now," he said as he stopped rolling around and looked toward the other pirates with a confused look on his face.

"Don't worry us like that!" Shachi and Penguin yelled together.

"I'm sorry," came the trademark reply as the bear-man bowed his head.

"How long has your chest been hurting?" Law asked curiously.

"About two weeks, on and off. I've been short of breath a lot too."

"Let's go the infirmary and I'll take a look."

\---

Shachi and Penguin scoured the entire north side of the town, and after checking in with the others, the men started to think there wasn't one on the island. Three hours now, they searched for a vet clinic.

It still surprised them though to hear their captain, an amazing doctor, said he didn't know what was wrong with Bepo and that it was probably an animal related thing. That surprised them more since they just thought Bepo was a man in a really good costume. Guess you do learn new things every day.

The two turned and headed back to the sub when the call came through on the Den Den Mushi saying that someone found a clinic. Five minutes later, Law, Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, and Jean Bart were on the front deck that led to a clinic. Law knocked on the door before turning the handle, the bell on the top announcing his entry. A young boy stood right inside the entrance like he was getting ready to open the door when Law entered.

Taking one look at the Heart pirates, the poor boy took off running to the back of the office, yelling about dangerous pirates.

A moment passed and the pirates could hear a woman's voice in the back, "What's all this about scary men and man eating polar bears?" The pirates watched as a woman in her mid twenties walked out in a lab coat, the small boy cowering behind her legs. "Oh, I see what you mean, but this bear hardly looks like man eater."  Turning toward Law she asked, "Can I help you Supernova?"

Slightly surprised the vet on a remote island recognized him so easily, Law answered, "My crewmate is sick and I don't think it's something that affects humans."

"Clearly, or else an _amazing_ doctor such as you wouldn't need my help." The knowing smile on her face made the 'Surgeon of Death' instantly wary of her and the way she stressed 'amazing' had him feeling slightly annoyed. 

"My name is Rayven by the way, and my assistant is Rygin. Please have a seat right here Bepo and tell me what's wrong."

The pirate did as he was told. "You all can make yourself comfortable in the waiting room over there," Rygin said with a gesture to a couple of old couches that had suspicious scorch marks on them, still from behind Rayven's leg.

Even sitting on the low stool, Rayven still had to look up to meet Bepo in the eyes.  Stretching her foot out, she hit the bar under the stool to lower it. When he was slightly below her eye level she took her foot off and muttered 'much better' to no one in particular.

"Well you certainly are an interesting case," the vet said to Bepo as she grabbed her stethoscope, "but not the weirdest."

"I'm sorry."

Rayven chuckled at the polar bear. "There's nothing to be sorry about sweetie. Rygin, will you get out from behind my leg already."

"How come he gets called sweetie?" Shachi murmured to Penguin.

"What's weirder than a talking polar bear?" asked Jean Bart.

"I don't think you would believe me if I told you," came the melody like voice as the vet didn't even look up from where she was taking Bepo's blood. She finished and handed it to Rygin with a, "Go put this in the machine and tell me if it comes back positive or not."

"We've been through the Grand Line and we've seen some of the New World. I think we will believe you," Law stated, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"The Grand Line is not weird compared to the second half of the New World, trust me on that.  But if you really want to know, the strangest case I've ever had was a case of the bird flu. The victim: Marco the Phoenix."

Silence. Rayven could tell the men were trying to process the information.

Chuckling. She turned to see Law's chest moving oddly and his face contorted as he tried not to laugh. He failed. The entire room was filled with noise as the pirates laughed at the thought of the infamous Marco stuck in a vet clinic with bird flu.

A smile spread across the vet's face as she recalled that day. The smile vanished though as she went on. "Ace brought him in. He then fell asleep on my couch after eating all the food I had including Rygin's stash of candy, so to get back at him Rygin played a prank on Ace that caused him to sneeze. That's why there are scorch marks on my couch."

The atmosphere grew silent as the men watched the vet look to the ground, a sad smile on her face. "Poor Ace. He was so young. And Luffy. He went through hell, nearly died, and broke out of hell, only to enter into another one to save his brother, only to have him die in his arms." There was a pause when no one knew what to say. "Thank you for saving Luffy and Jimbie."

"You seem to know a lot for an ordinary vet," Law stated. He knew something was up with this woman. She was familiar with a lot of big shot pirates, not to mention her knowledge of instances covered up by the government.

Regaining her composure, Rayven turned to the captain, a mischievous grin on her face, "Who said I was an ordinary vet? When your father is a famous pirate, other famous pirates tend to find you. Whitebeard even asked if I wanted to join his crew. I said no, but I was still considered a member, and his one and only daughter." Again a sad smile filled her face as she reminisced, but it passes quickly.

Upon hearing of Whitebeard's offer the crew tensed up, clearly not an ordinary vet. "Who's your father?" Bepo asked which came out surprisingly clear despite having a Popsicle stick holding down his tongue as Rayven inspected his throat.

"Now that is a secret," she said tapping the polar bear's nose as she threw the Popsicle stick away. Rygin came back in at the moment, his face scrunched as he said, "the blood changed color, its positive."

"Positive for what?" Law asked, sitting forward, his tone serious now.

"Heart-worm. Luckily it's in its early stages, which is weird since the symptoms were so pronounced. I assume it's because you aren't a normal polar bear."

"I'm sorry," Bepo said.

"So can you treat it?"

"Of course. The medicine will take two days to make though. If you can't wait I can improvise. It won't be quite as effective but it will work."

"We can wait. Know any places to get food at?"

"Well, do you want good or cheap? You can't have both in this town."

"Never mind then. How much will this cost?"

"I'm not sure yet," Rayven said as she checked a machine, "I still need to figure out a dosage for him.

\---

"Where's the captain?" Shachi asked after noticing his absence from the ship

"Either exploring the town or at the clinic", a random crew member stated, his mouth full of food.

"100 beli is at the clinic with the hot vet," Penguin replied, a grin on his face. No one took the bet.

"He's probably reading some of the vet's medical books. We never know when something might happen to Bepo again," Jean Bart replied, trying to be reasonable.

"Yeah sure, 'reading medical books'." A dull thud was heard as Penguin fell forward, unconscious.

Everyone turned to see their Supernova captain standing by the door. "They were really good medical books too," the doctor said with a grin on his face. He walked to the kitchen counter and grabbed two slices of pizza before heading to his room.

The crew just sat there not saying anything until no one could hear the laughing of their captain anymore. "Wait, I'm confused, was he reading or not?" came the question from the cook. There was no answer.

\---

"Okay, the medicine is ready. And here's the book you wanted to finish reading. The instruction for the medicine is in there," Rayven said handing the bundle to Law. "How much?"

Normally he would just take the medicine and go, but when the vet has been offered a place in Whitebeards crew, it made him reconsider. He didn't want to find out first hand why.

"Consider us even, for you helping Luffy and Jimbie."

With that, the Heart Pirates turned to go. But one man stayed behind.

Raising an eyebrow at the man, "Can I help you?"

"Do you have any of those cone thingies you use to keep animals from licking at wounds?"

A sigh escaped the vet's lips, but the smile on her lips was as clear as day. "100 beli."

"Deal."

"Hey Bepo, the vet forgot to mention this, but you have to wear this cone for a week," Penguin said, unfolding it.

Law looked at him, debating whether or not to say anything, but held his tongue. This could be entertaining after all.

"Best hundred beli I've ever spent," Penguin muttered to Shachi as they watched Bepo try to eat his dinner.

\---

"I can't believe you! You're evil! How could you do that to me? Do you know how hard it was to do everything in that thing?!" roared Bepo as he chased Penguin around the sub.

"I saw the note Rayven-san left. It had her number so I called her and she said I didn't have to wear a cone! She said you stole it and lied to me!"

"She said that?! She sold me out!" cried Penguin as he ran faster.

"She gave you her number?" Jean Bart asked to Law as they watched Bepo grab Penguin and wrestle him to the ground.

"In case...I have any questions about animal diseases" the 'Surgeon of Death' responded, his grin from ear to ear.


	2. In Need of a Vet - The Bird Flu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This happens a couple years before the first chapter and is essentially the epilogue but I wrote it a couple months after the first back in 2013 with some minor edits. It focuses on something mentioned in the first chapter when Marco came down with the bird flu. Cross posted.

Rygin picked up the last grocery bag and turned toward the vet clinic he lived at. To get there though, he had to pass through the piers. He hated them the most because it was always crowded and being seven it means you get pushed aside a lot, and none too gently either.

Gathering himself, he walked down the cobblestone road toward the piers. Rounding the corner of the dentist's office he stared in utter disbelief. The piers were empty, well mostly. Looking around at the ships he noticed why. One ship, the biggest there, had whitebeard's insignia on it. Rygin broke into a dead sprint toward the clinic but laden down with grocery bags, it was more of a jogging waddle.

Rayven was looking thoroughly at some x-rays when Rygin busted through the door. "Rayven, whitebeard pirates are in town," the young boy yelled before gasping for air.

"I'm aware that they're in town; now go put the groceries up sweetie." Noting her calmness, Rygin calmed down a bit himself and headed upstairs to the fridge to unload the food. As he headed up the stairs he heard the bells on the door chime, announcing the arrival of someone.

Fifteen minutes later Rygin came back down the stairs ready to check on the animals in the clinic and give them their medicine. At the foot of the stairs was the lounge area where clients could wait. It consisted of two chairs and a matching couch with a table in the center. The inspection table was in plain view so the owners could watch what was happening to their pets. Normally the clinic wasn't crowded, but Rygin saw that every seat was taken, what was odd though was that there were no animals on the inspection table.

Looking at the people with closer scrutiny, Rygin recognized them as members of the Whitebeard crew, high ranking members at that. It took a moment to sink in, but when it did, the young boy ran screaming to Rayven, and hid behind her legs.

"Honestly sweetie, you get scared too easily. These pirates won't hurt us," the vet said placing a hand on the boy's head.

"What about the Marines that come looking for them?"

"The marines aren't likely to check here. Now you have medicine to distribute, so get to it," the young woman said as she stepped to the side and gave a light kick to the boy's rear end.

She watched him disappear behind the corner before surveying the pirates; Ace spread out on the couch with Marco and Joza in the chairs. What on earth is this place coming to? "So what can I help you boys with?"

"I've been feeling bad for a while now and our doctor doesn't know what's wrong with me," Marco said awkwardly.

"So you think it's…Phoenix related?"

"…Yes."

"Well, I wasn't trained to treat mythical or extinct creatures, but I can take a crack at it. First off, what are your symptoms?"

"Well, chest pains, random fevers, breathing problems, swelling, and a change in the color of my flames."

"Swelling where? Color change to what?"

"Hands and feet. Blue to a dark purple."

Rayven nodded thoughtfully as she grabbed her stethoscope, running lists in her head of possible answers. Placing the stethoscope on her unusual patient's chest, she said, "Deep breath…good…hold it…release it slowly…good…repeat." The pirate did as he was told.

"Oh, and he has had a couple of mood swings lately, too," Ace said, from a very relaxed position on the couch. Rayven looked at the man who was stretched out on the couch, to Jozu, who nodded his agreement.

"I haven't had any mood swings!" Marco said angrily.

"Have too," mocked Ace.

As Marco opened his mouth to respond Rayven stuck a Popsicle stick into his mouth to hold his tongue down and said, "Say 'aaahhhh'." Again he did as he was told but this time while shooting death glares at Ace, who was busy snoring silently on the couch. Rayven arched an eyebrow at him but said nothing. This place just attracted weirdos.

"He's narcoleptic," Jozu offered as an explanation.

"I heard rumors, but you know how true those tend to be," she replied while removing the Popsicle stick from Marco's mouth.

"Do you know what's wrong?" he asked.

"I have a good guess, but I need to ask a few more questions to be sure. First, other than the color of your wings, have the 'feathers' on them looked different?"

"They have looked a little ruffled."

"Okay, the second question, have you noticed any difference in your egg production?" Rayven's face giving away no signs of her jest.

"What?! I'm a male in case you haven't noticed! I don't lay eggs!" Marco yelled as he stood up and gestured to his flat chest, his face red with embarrassment and anger. The loud laughter from the now awake Ace and Jozu didn't help the matter either.

"I was just kidding you, calm down sweetie. You have the bird flu, by the way."

"That's it?! Why couldn't our doctor figure that out?" Jozu asked incredulously.

"Well because the symptoms are those of bird, not a human, but I believe a human treatment will work on you, but to be safe, I'm giving you medicine that I use for the chickens. It still remains contagious to humans as well though, so you will have to stay here for a few days in solitary. Don't worry; I won't stuff you in a cage- Where'd Ace go?"

Jozu and Marco looked at the empty couch, then around the clinic, then to each other before Jozu asked, "Do you have a lock on your fridge?"

"I'm adding that to your bill," Rayven said flatly, knowing perfectly well what they meant.

"We understand," they said unanimously.

"Jozu, go get Ace and head back to the ship. Tell everyone I'm going to be here for a couple days and to move somewhere else before we cause an incident," Marco ordered. Turning to Rayven, he asked, "How long will it take to make medicine?"

"Well, I have nothing really to get rid of it. Because it's a flu, the symptoms can be suppressed but it's your body that has to deal with it. I can make something to help with your symptoms, but it will take about half an hour for me to alter the medicine I have to fit you."

"Better than nothing."

Jozu walked down the stairs, an unconscious Ace slung over his shoulder. Again, we are really sorry about him, and we will compensate you for the food," he said before heading back to the ship.

"Well make yourself comfy, the couch is yours for the next three days, and I'll bring you out a pillow and a blanket later," Rayven said before heading to the back of the clinic where the animals and medicine were kept.

Half an hour later, Rayven and Rygin came out of the back room to see Marco in the chair reading a magazine and Ace asleep on the couch again. Rayven sighed, as she realized the whole solitary confinement wasn't going to work with Fire Fist around.

"I'm hungry, what should we eat for lunch Rayven?" Rygin said with a hand on his gurgling stomach.

"Well, why don't we go out for lunch?"

"Why? I just brought back groceries this morning, so we have enough food."

"Not anymore sweetie," Rayven replied.

"Whatcha mean not anymore?!" Rygin asked frantically before he noticed Rayven point a finger at the sleeping Ace.

In disbelief, he ran upstairs to see for himself. Marco noticed Rayven count down from five with her fingers. At zero, a yell was heard, "Not my candy bars! Fire Fist!"

"Did we tell you how sorry we are?" Marco asked when he saw the young boy stomp down the stairs, smoke practically coming out of his ears and nose from anger.

"You will pay Fire Fist," Rygin swore to the still sleeping Devil Fruit user before stomping out of the clinic, Rayven right behind him. "We'll be back in an hour or so, and don't forget to take your medicine that I put on the table," Rayven called as she closed the clinic's door.

"Thanks," Marco called back as he stared at the glass of water and two pills, wondering when she put them there. Looking toward Ace he chuckled, "I can't wait to see what your newfound enemy has in store for you."

Rayven opened the door to the clinic, a tray of food in her other hand. "We're back and I brought some extra food for you, which will be added to your bill."

Rygin walked in behind, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Thanks for the food," Marco said, accepting it from Rayven's outstretched arm.

"I see Ace is still sleeping. Perfect for Rygin," Rayven said, leaving to the back of the room to check on the animals.

She came out a couple minutes later with a small, black kitten in her arms, just in time to see Rygin spray some whipped cream on Ace's hand.

"Oh dear," she said as she put the kitten on the inspection table. But she did nothing to stop it, neither did Marco. Even the kitten looked on at the scene with amusement in her eyes.

Rygin pulled a feather out of his pocket and oh so carefully slid it down the side of Fire Fist's face. Nothing happened, so he tried again, and again, and again. Finally, he elicited a response, just not the intended one. Ace was supposed to smash the whipped cream into his face, instead, he sneezed.

For a normal person, that isn't a big deal, but Ace isn't a normal person, to say the least. As he sneezed, flames shot out of his mouth, small ones, but flames nonetheless, and caught the couch on fire. The startled Logia user tried to put the flames out but succeeded in making them worse.

Rygin had the 'oh shit, I'm screwed' look on his face as he stood there too stunned to do anything. Marco sat there for a second before realizing the danger. He pulled Ace away from the couch and dumped his glass of water on the biggest flame, which sizzled and smoked but stayed alight.

"Enough now!" barked Rayven as she held the terrified kitten close to her chest. Everyone froze; even the flames seemed to stop moving. She snapped her fingers and the flames died down immediately, leaving the pirates to wonder how.

"Ace, leave now, Marco is supposed to be in solitary confinement so he doesn't infect others. Marco, sit back down and rest. Rygin, take this little girl back to her cage and bring out the Border collie, his owner is coming soon to pick him up." Rayven watched as everyone scrambled around, following her orders without question.

A week later, Rayven deemed Marco fit enough to leave and she accompanied him to the ship to collect her pay. She stood on the deck in front of Whitebeard, 'the world's strongest man', while Marco counted out the money. Now, most people would be terrified, but Rayven was perfectly fine because unbeknownst to the rest of the crew, she and Whitebeard had met before.

"You can't possibly be the little girl I met all those years back?" Whitebeard said, his voice loud and clear, causing everyone to stop what they were doing. "Silvers Rayven, how you look like your mother yet take after your father. I'm still surprised Rayleigh had a kid, even after all these years."

"My old man has a few secrets up his sleeve, and is still a ladies man believe it or not," Rayven responded, a fond smile on her lips. "And what of you pops, how is your health?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, and hold up!" Ace interjected. "You're the Dark King's Daughter?" he said with utter disbelief as he got closer for a better inspection. A split second later he was on his back ten yards away by Marco, even more confused.

"I like my personal space."

The ship started to rock as Whitebeard erupted with laughter at Ace's encounter. "You truly do live up to what your father named you, Miss Haki Master. Why don't you join my crew and be my first daughter, you can teach these sons of mine some manners?"

"Thanks for the offer, but all I asked was how your health is. I'm fine here, only interfering with pirate affairs when it suits me," Rayven said with her own mischievous grin as she took the bag of money from Marco's outstretched hand.

She walked to the railing on the side of the ship, and with one last wave to everyone, melted into the wind as her body transformed.

"What did she just do?" Marco asked stunned.

"She turned herself into Haki. I knew she would figure that trick out sooner or later. I remember when she was trying to do it twenty something years ago," Whitebeard laughed.

"How is that even possible? What type of Haki does she have?" Marco asked incredulously.

"She isn't a Haki Master for nothing," Whitebeard said more to himself than as an answer to Marco's question.

"Who gave her that name?"

"Sengoku, Roger, Rayleigh, and myself."

"I still don't get how this is possible?"

"It's in her blood," Whitebeard replied.

"In her blood?"

"Not far from Raftel, there is an island of Haki users, the first Haki users. Anyone who is capable of using it, they have an ancestor from that island. They can do things with Haki that we wouldn't think possible, like turn into Haki itself or materialize it to a solid shape," Whitebeard said. "Rayven's mother is from there. Between her and Rayleigh, her Haki is terrifying but she is as sweet as they come," the large man chuckled. "Until someone pisses her off."

"What happened to her mother? I never heard of Rayleigh having a wife."

"She died from a disease when Rayven was a roughly a year old," Whitebeard responded the sadness in his voice evident. "As Rayven said, he has his secrets."


End file.
